Hybrid Army
by mlivdc
Summary: From my SYOC. After finding out the School and Itex's joined plans to rid the planet of humans, Jordan and her friends have to stop them. But they have to find the other 2 flocks first. That's going to be... fun. -DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE-
1. Aspen

Wish me luck!

And R&R

~SapphireAmethystRose~

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><p>Aspen POV<p>

I have never ever lived a year of my life in a single place. By the age of 10, I'd lived all over the world. Australia, Korea, Madagascar, you name it, I'd lived there.

I used to be teased by the other kids at school. 'War Fairy' they called me because I looked like a fairy of some sort. Not that I was interested in war. It was because of my dad. He'd been in the military and one day he'd been shot. On that night that he had, my mother and I had held each other tight, crying until there were no more tears to cry.

The next morning, I'd squared my shoulders and told myself that I would move on. I wish I could have said the same thing for my mum. Mum became depressed and the more I was around her, the more depressed she'd get.

When I came home from school one day, I'd gone into the living room to find men in suits and lab coats. I had looked at my mother for an explanation but the only thing she could give me were eyes filled guilt and pain. I had run into my room and locked the door. I knew they were taking me away. But I didn't know why.

Before the took me, I slid on my father's army dog tag so that I would have a part of him to keep with me. Then the men hit me over the head and I blacked out.

I hadn't seen the regret written all over my mother's face when I'd been dragged out, a limp body with fiery hair.

They experimented on me, tortured me until I gave in. But let me tell you something. Even if the pain is too strong to bear, even if they've broken you to the point of wanting to die right then and there, the freedom when you escape is worth it.


	2. Guinevere

If you think this chapter has nothing to do with everything and everything to with nothing, you're wrong.

You'll understand later.

~SapphireAmethystRose~

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><p>Guinevere POV<p>

People are so carefree these days and I don't understand why. I had a best friend when I was 11. Back when I actually went to a real school the one with kids and learning.

Her name was Chelsea. Well, my best friend, everyone wanted to be her friend. All the boys liked her. She was smart, pretty and always got the highest marks in tests.

See, the difference between me and her is that when she got the high marks, I got the low marks. So when there was a test for a special class, the school didn't choose me to take it. But I did.

So I took the test and when I got the marks, I had the lowest marks of the school. I knew my best friend would get in. I had to get in or she would think even less of me. Or that was what I thought.

What I didn't realize was that even if I wasn't chosen and I hadn't gotten in, it wouldn't have mattered to her. I hadn't known that. I was her best friend and she didn't care if I was dumb or stupid. She wouldn't care if I had been the ugliest person on earth. She would still be my best friend.

But back then I hadn't known. So I ditched her. Told her that it was getting a bit boring and that we didn't even hang out anymore. Sure I should have listened to her side but I didn't. And that was that. She moved on and I realized I had made the greatest mistake of my life. I had just lost my best friend. _For life._

You maybe wondering what the _hell_ this has got to do with anything but you'll get it later on. I promise. You will.


	3. James

James POV

I guess I haven't always been this carefree. You know, there are good time and bad times, ups and downs.

I was born into a rich family and when I say that, you'd think I would spoiled by my parents. Well you're wrong. In fact, I'd never seen them _happier_ to sell me for 'the good of science and experimentation'.

My family had a lot of publicity. You open any magazine and I bet you, my family would've been in it. But all those magazines, there must have been millions of them, you wouldn't have heard about me. You wouldn't even know there was someone living in the shadow of their parents lives, locked up with the key thrown away.

Well, that was me. The son of a famous family that never existed. Our neighbours didn't even know about me. That's how secretive the rich and famous are.

But now, I couldn't be happier with out them. I hope they realize their mistakes someday, even if it's in their deathbed.

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><p>Sorry for the short chapters. These are just the starts. So you get to know them. Kind of.<p>

You get what I mean right?

Basically their history but them telling it.

Anyway, R&R

please!

Tell me what you think. I'm not very experienced.


	4. Ghost

This chapter is extremely short. Sorry!

I didn't realise it was this short!

It's only a few lines and I feel bad.

R&R!

~SapphireAmethystRose~

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><p>Ghost POV<p>

My parents thought I was dead. They were told I had a brain tumor. So I was taken for experimentation. You'd think my parents would at least want to bury in a grave. But nooooo, the gave me up for experiments. Enough with the serious stuff.

I have a family now. No, not like that you creepy perverts. More like I have siblings. Not real ones. My siblings, well, they're different. So am I. Some of us don't know who we really are. Just our first names. I don't even know that.

We escaped that place. No torturing, no experimenting. We're free now and no one is ever going to catch us again. At least, I hope not.


	5. Jordan

HEYY EVERYONE!

Please R&R ppls

Thnx,

~SapphireAmethystRose~

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><p>Jordan POV<p>

I carefully placed one foot after the other on the balance beam, arms spread wide. Suddenly, a flashback came and I wobbled.

_Flashback_

_A baby was wailing at the top of its lungs, a high pitched noise that pierced your ears. A mother was hushing the baby then a sweet, strong voice singing out in the darkness._

_End Flashback_

When the flash back had ended, I fell, twisting my ankle when I landed on the blue mat below me.

"Owwwwww!" ! exclaimed loudly as Ms. Barnett rushed over to her.

"Is everything okay?" Ms. Barnett asked, though the answer was kind of obvious.

"No." I replied miserably, knowing that a sprained ankle could mean no dancing or gymnastics for weeks.

"Thank the lords they trained me in medicine as well." Ms. Barnett said, holding my ankle.

"Nope, no sprain or break. That's good." Ms. Barnett said.

Gymnastics ended a few minutes later, and I changed into my tank top, baby green shirt, shorts and converse. I picked up my bags and walked out the gym door. And got hit by a downpour of rain. Great. Normally, I'm cheerful but this is not one of my good days.

I started walking home, finding a patch of dryness every once in a while. If it hadn't been raining, I would have noticed the dark shadows following me. If it hadn't been raining, I wouldn't have been tortured and experimented on. But if it hadn't been raining, I wouldn't have met my best friends. I wouldn't be able to fly.


	6. Chapter 6

I know you guys have been waiting,

I hope this chapter will make you review!

:D

Kidding

Anyway, on with the show! I meant story but whatever...

~Sapphy

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><p>Aspen POV<p>

Ow. I don't think my body has hurt this much since the School captured me. I found out I wasn't the only one who was captured. There's Guinevere who takes everything so seriously, Jordan who's in a different room and is always bubbly and fun, Ghost who would kill anyone who would even try hurt his family, Juliet who's with Jordan and is always quiet and shy, Sascha who is so perverted, Oliver, Limit, Zoe and Zak, Swift and Astral.

We were all taken from our families and friends so now is a hard time for all of us but we're going to get through, I know. We'll escape and live freely and happily without a care in the world.

But first, we're going to have to think of a plan which might be hard since we're kept in different rooms. I stared at one of the bars of my cage and tried hard to focus myself on the plan and not the pain. It didn't work at all. I ended up thinking about the plan, then the speck of dirt on the ceiling of my low cage, then torturing the back to the pain. I sighed. This would one hell of a long night.

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><p>Jordan POV<p>

I giggled. Juliet stared at me as if I was crazy.

"Jordan!" she hissed, "We've got to think of a plan! Or we'll never get out." She said miserably.

"Hmm." I said in reply and lay back on the cold metal base of the cage.

"Let see. The only time we're all together is when they're doing the weekly testing to see if we're improving and which one of us is in the best shape after their experimentations." I said thoughtfully.

"So all we have to do is get a distraction and escape. That shouldn't be too hard I guess. But what's the distraction gonna be?" Juliet stated.

"Uhhhh... I didn't think about that. Woopsie daisies." I answered.

"Maybe we could escape a few at a time. There's 16 of us so by the time all of us have gone, the last few can just... run." Ghost spoke up.

"Okay then. Who's always first for the testing? That would be the youngest. So Swift, Limit, Juliet and Zoe." I said, answering my own question.

"But we'll need one of the older ones with us." Juliet interrupted.

"So they'll have to wait till the next comes. Next is... me, James, Aspen and Guinevere." Ghost said.

"Right. Now that I think about it, Guinevere kinda looks familiar. Hmm." I said, then got lost in thoughts.

"Jordan! Snap out of it!" Ghost snapped at me.

I sat up quickly, banging my head in the process.

"We really need to get out of these cages. Luckily, the scientist actually seem to trust enough to let us out of our cages during testing." I said, wincing.

"We need more strength. With the time they give us to exercise, it'll be hard to be out there again, fending for ourselves." Ghost added.

"But it'll be much better than it is here." Juliet said softly.

Beyond the door, there was the tapping of shoes on tiles. They were coming closer and with each step, they became louder.

"Shut up everyone!" I warned.

When the door opened, light flooded in and I could see the faces of Kat and Kia. Kat pushed the door open wider and let more light in. She glanced around at the three of us, seeing the weary faces.

She barked some orders to Kia who pushed in Swift's, Limit's and Zoe's cages. Kia made a rude face at her from behind her back but pushed the cages in.

I gasped when I saw the limp bodies of Swift and Limit. Zoe was huddled as far as she possibly could from Kia and Kat.

"Guess what? Director says you can come outa your cages today." Kat spat at us.

"Says you hybrids need to move. Thinks you're becoming vegetables and we can't have that have that happening can we?" Kia came closer to our cages and pressed her face that was twisted with venom against my cage. She grinned viciously and clicked open the lock of my cage. I didn't dare come out incase she did what she had last week.

_Flashback_

"_How dare you come out?" Kia raged, getting worked up at a little thing._

_As soon I realized my mistake, I waited for the blows. She kicked my ribs and my stomach for what seemed like hours then stopped._

"_I'm just wasting my energy on pathetic little hybrid that can't even fight back." She said, shaking her head._

"_Might as well leave." She said._

_Carefully, I put my hand out and gently placed it a part of her ankle that wasn't covered. I felt the strength being sucked out and I quickly removed my hand before she realized anything._

"_Adios, losers." She said, walking out the door and padlocking it from the outside._

_With the energy I had stolen from her, I healed my bruised ribs, and healed the injuries that the others had. It was one of the good things about experimentation. The only one._

_End Flashback_

Once they had unlocked Ghost's and Juliet's cages, Kia picked up Limit's cage and dumped it on the floor. It tumbled on to it's side and Limit was frightened by the sudden jolts and noises. She didn't say anything as Zoe and Swift's cages had the same treatment.

"See ya later weaklings." Kia said as she followed Kat out the door.

We crawled out of our cages and immediately, I ran to Limit and Swift's cages and took them out. I hugged them close to me, stroking Swift's hair. I sighed. I wished they didn't have to grow up in this place.

We would get out and everyone would be happy, I would make sure of it.

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><p>Do ya like it?<p>

R&R!

:D

~Sapphy


	7. Chapter 7

Ghost POV

It was Friday (I think) and it was testing day. I sure hoped our plan would work. Since I'd been moved to the other room this week, I'd informed the other room's inhabitants of the plan. Today was the day we'd put into action.

Sure enough, Kat and Kia came into the room like they usually did, Kia pushing a large trolley to put our cages on. Considering they were both only 14, they were really strong to lift our cages.

When we got to the testing area, the other room were already there, sitting on the white tiled floor and Swift, Limit, Zoe and Juliet had already the first test for today. Today was the maze. I groaned. The maze was just a giant rat's maze and you had to get to the other side. Sounds easy right? Well it isn't. Before you start, they attach wires and patches to you. If you stop to rest or think during the maze, they would press a button and it would zap you. Oh and they also release a whole bunch of erasers into the maze that if you come across, you have to fight them or be beaten up and electrocuted.

Jordan sat with her back against a wall and when we came in, she looked me straight in the eye. I nodded slightly, knowing that she was silently asking me whether I'd told them or not.

I sat down next to her and Aspen came to sit next to me. James had already sat on the other side of Jordan. Astral, Sascha, Guinevere, Oliver, and Zak sat around us, forming a semi circle. We didn't say anything but we knew that we were all anxious, nervous and excited at the same time. I hope it goes well.

Zoe POV

"Arghhh!" I screamed in frustration. I couldn't help but stop to think but each time I did, I received a small electrocution. An eraser was fighting against Juliet and I came up behind it and elbowed it in the side of it's head. It conked out immediately.

"Thanks." Juliet smiled at me.

"No problemo." I replied with a grin. "Now let's kick some eraser ass!" I exclaimed.

I've realized that working together is much easier than working on your on. We met a few more erasers on the way but fought through them. When we finally got to the other side, I collapsed on the floor. A scientist clicked a stopwatch. A scribbled something on his clipboard then turned and looked at another stopwatch.

A few minutes later, Limit and Swift came out from the maze, panting after running away from erasers instead of fighting them. The stopwatch clicked and there was some more scribbling. Then, he gave us the sign that we could go.

We went back to the group and sat down, catching our breath. After some time, James, Ghost, Guinevere, Zak and Aspen went to the maze and started. Even though I had caught my breath, my heart was still pounding hard in my chest. We had to be ready. I closed my eyes and quickly skimmed through the plan in my head. I took deep breaths but nothing worked.

Jordan, who was sitting next to me, squeezed my hand and gave me a comforting smile. I forced a smile back.

"Swift, Limit, come here." Jordan said.

Swift and Limit came to us and sat between us.

Swift whispered something to Jordan. Normally, Swift is hard to read and doesn't talk to people, being four and all, but I think Swift and Jordan have a connection of some sort.

"How you feeling?" Jordan asked me.

"Nervous. Really nervous." I replied.

Jordan laughed.

"That's probably normal when we're about to break out from a high security facility." Jordan said quietly, making sure none of the scientists or guards heard.

I giggled in reply to that. Uh oh, I thought. The 2nd group was back and it was time for the first of us to break out. This is going to be, for lack of better word, fun.


	8. Chapter 8

01/06/2012

James POV

Finally, when my group had finished getting through the maze, it was time to put our plan into action. Last night, Ghost had thoroughly informed me of what the plan was. He told me 4 times.

Anyway, I went to the group, where Zoe, Swift, Limit and Juliet were waiting for me near the exit. It was a small corridor then the double doors. Surprisingly, there were no guards there.

"Okay. One by one, go around the corner and wait by the door. Zoe, you go first." I said to them.

Zoe crept around the corner cautiously, looking as if she were going to die. Then she squashed herself into the corner near the door. Limit went next, frightened and trembling. Juliet went after her. When Juliet was going around the corner, I saw a guard glance our way. Juliet saw too and quickened her pace. I picked up Swift who said nothing and started to suck his thumb and went around the corner as well. I winced each time the door creaked as it opened. Everyone went through the door and into the corridor.

Ghost had told me to go to the computer room, and as we made our way there, we heard hushed voices inside. My eyes widened and I glanced around. I ushered everyone into the broom cupboard and I could hear everyone breathing as if they'd just finished a marathon.

A door opened and closed then two pairs of shoes made their way past the broom cupboard. I opened the door just a crack and peeked out. They were gone. I breathed out.

We raced to the computer room and once we'd gotten in, I shut the door and Zoe stayed there to keep watch. Juliet logged into the computer (the password was on a sticky note on the monitor) and opened some files. Limit stayed with Swift and kept him busy while I found something to break the window with.

I found a wrench that was quite large that should break enough glass.

"Everyone, away from the window." I ordered.

From some distance away, I threw the wrench at the window that shattered almost immediately. I held my breath. No sirens went off. Phew.

All five of us stood precariously on the window sill, 5 stories up.

"1, 2, 3... JUMP!" I yelled.

We all jumped at the same time and for a few seconds, we were free falling. Then we all snapped out our wings. Yeah you heard me right. _Wings_. We flew around for a bit then settled on a large maple tree that was half yellow already.

Then I something struck me. We were free. A smile broke out on my face and I relaxed. Everyone else would come and then we could leave this place forever.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the short chapters, I'm still getting back into writing this.

Enjoy!

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><p>Sascha POV<p>

Group 2 had just finished and were walking seemingly unworried back to the waiting area.

I stood still, in line with Jordan, Oliver, Astrak and William, as a scientist stuck little white patches to my legs, arms and forehead. I bit my lip and glanced around. Quite a few of the others were slowly inching towards the exit. We would have to move quickly through the maze, or the escape route would be found and sealed.

_BEEP!_ The buzzer sounded. As my legs were shocked into action, I heard the distinctive growl of erasers being let out of their cage for what I hoped was the final time.

I turned a corner and kept running, telling myself that this would be the last time I would have to do this.

Soon it started to become harder to breathe, mucus clogging up in my throat. Sweat had already started to form on my forehead, beading up and dripping into my eyes. I wiped it away and pushed myself to keep going.

Thankfully, I didn't 'meet up' with any erasers and came out of the maze in record time. A scientist gave me a large bottle of water and I unscrewed the cap and poured a little bit into my mouth. I didn't drink much; I would save it for after the escape. Who knew when we were going to drink clean water next?

Jordan came out of the maze next, looking more alive than ever. She'd probably stole a little energy from one of the erasers. She took the water bottle and didn't drink any as Astral arrived as well. Oliver and William came out last. We walked back and sat close to the exit.

The 2nd escape group, Ghost, Guinevere, Aspen, Astral and Zak, left quietly.

A few seconds later, there was a loud blaring noise. Fire alarm. The sprinklers came on and all the scientist panicked, running this way and that.

No one noticed us go. We ran as fast as possible to the computer room. A few erasers were outside the room, eyes widening as they saw us running full speed towards them. I slammed into one of them who fell forward, clutching his shins. Shows what erasers are made of these days.

Jordan touched one of the erasers who lost consciousness.

"I really need to get this energy out..." she muttered, glowing a bluey-purple with the excess energy.

We jumped out the window all at once, almost forgetting to open our wings, then soared into the bright, cloudless sky, doing tricks as if to taunt the scientist watching us from the broken window.

Finally, we flew away into the big tree with everyone else. We were free, and had no intention of going back.

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><p>Sorry for the long wait!<p>

Have been busy with school and homework and studying and other random stuff.

Hope you like it!

~Sapphy


	10. Chapter 10

Jordan POV

But, of course, then the guards realised there didn't quite, ahem, seem to be 15 birdkids lined up on the other side of the testing room (um, it was_ empty_.) And so, alarms went off. Loudly.

By that time, all of us were outside in the maple tree, and basically? Celebrating. I mean, wouldn't you celebrate after outsmarting a bunch of evil scientists that've been torturing you for years?

"Jordan! Quit daydreaming and focus! There are erasers coming!" Ghost snapped.

And he was right. Eraser after eraser filed through the computer room door, ready to come after us. This was insane. Not 5 minutes after escaping and we were already about to fight.

"Uh, maybe we should just... run?" Zoe suggested hopefully.

"I vote run." I answered.

Everyone else just shrugged and flipped out their wings, so I did too. It felt so good just to stretch my wings, a tawny brown that matched my hair with white tips. A cool breeze blew through the trees, rustling the leaves and my feathers.

"Come on guys." Sascha called, leading the way by jumping head first out of the tree, snapping out her wings halfway down and swooping up into the air gracefully.

I closed my eyes and felt myself falling forward, then down. I smiled with exhileration, snapping my eyes open and stretching my wings wider, rushing close, so close, to the ground before following the wind upwards.

James, who was carrying Swift, smirked at my little stunt and I blushed. Glancing around and realising the erasers were jumping out the broken window in rows and flapping their wings jerkily, I caught up quickly to the rest.

Lightly, unnoticeably, I touched the backs of each persons hand, feeling a little bit of energy leave each time. As I held onto Ghost's hand, I frowned, and I could feel that something was definitely wrong. And I was right, without warning, a large chunk of my_ own_ energy was tugged from my body and into Ghost's to heal whatever was wrong with him.

I gasped, all the air from my lungs rushing out, and for a second I stopped flapping my wings and dropped from the sky. My head was dizzy from the sudden drop in height, and I was finding it hard to breathe. Looking up, Guinevere was watching with her sharp eyes, and 11-year-old Juliet had disappeared from sight, turning invisible like she did when she was scared.

"Jordie!" Limit cried in her young voice.

Oliver had swooped down and grabbed my arm, while I coughed like an 80-year-old chain smoker. All of a sudden, all the pressure on my lungs left and I took deep, wheezing breaths.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm alright. I'm not going to die." I chanted to myself.

Oliver gave me a half smile, but looked at me with concern. I myself was just glad I hadn't dropped like a rock entirely. Zak and Zoe had joined the two of us in mid-air, looking at me with wide-eyes.

"Woah! What was that? You were like, healing Ghost or something, and then you just dropped like your wings stopped working! And then, you looked you were gonna die, what with that coughing fit-" Zak talk quickly, making no sense to me at this point.

"Zak?" Zoe said to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

He glared at her then shot straight up to join the group.

"I'll be fine." I reassured them.

"Are you sure?" Zoe asked suspiciously.

I coughed in answer.

"Don't answer that."

Aspen POV

I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who freaked out when Jordie dropped almost out of sight. When Zak came back from checking up on her, he'd told Ghost that she was perfectly fine, but sounded like she'd been smoking all her life.

Unconsciously, I'd picked up my dad's army dog tag that hung around my neck on a chain and had started flipping between my fingers. It was a habit I'd picked up somewhere along the line, and it felt so natural.

I felt someone's stare on me, and realised it was probably pretty obvious that I was worried since I'd been around these people for the last few years of my life.

I glanced around surreptiously, and saw Ghost's eyes on me. As soon I caught his eyes, her looked away and I frowned.

I hoped he was okay.

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><p>OMG<p>

I feel so ashamed I havem't updated in over a year, but I'm back now and I hope I won't you let you all down.

~Sapphy


	11. Chapter 11

Hi! I think this chapter is a little longer than the rest, so I hope you enjoy :)

Thanks to those who stuck with the story even though i didn't update for a million years :/

~Sapphy

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><p>Ghost POV<p>

After Jordan's little spasm or whatever it was, I'd been contemplating what it meant for a while. Afterall, she only got it when she'd tried to heal me. I must've shown it in my face because I saw Aspen looking at me worriedly and flipping the dog tag I'd seen her fiddling with often before tests and experiments.

I caught her eyes and I saw the bluch creeping up from her neck towards her face. I smirked and leaned back into my wings, crossing my legs, closing my eyes and rested my arms behind my head (yes, it's possible to do that while in the air, no matter what others might say.)

I was startled out of my thoughts when Oliver announced, "Well, crap."

_Crap is right._

Lux, who was basically the boss-slash-leader-slash-bloodthirsty-est of the erasers, was swooping after us, with none of the jerkiness that we'd seen with the experimental batch at Itex and a grin on her face that I couldn't read. Well, it was definitelynot an I'm-going-to-help-you-escape-because-I've-turned-to the-other-side! Grin.

And for some strange, strange reason, we didn't run... fly. Whatever. So by the time anyone actually _thought_ to run, Lux had already rounded on us, blocking our way (even though there were probably 359 other directions we could've gone.)

The scar that ran from her forehead to her cheek made her seem even more threatening, though personally, she'd never been around enough to know her real personality. Her bow had already been strung and an arrow hung from her fingers, almost taunting us with the knowledge that she had the upper hand, even though it was 15 against 1.

"So, little birdkids, are you scared? Because you know you'll never get away. Even if you do, we'll always find you." Lux said smugly.

"Yeah? And how do you know that?" Will asked in a strong voice, but you could hear the underlying shakiness clearly.

But if I could hear it, a couple metres away, then obviously Lux heard it too, because she said, "Because I can do this."

And without hesitation, before anyone could even react to what she'd said, she let a fly an arrow that buried itself in Juliet's arm, who let out a yelp of sudden pain. Will's face turned white and gaunt, as his sister screwed her eyes shut against the pain, knowing there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

"Remember the deal birdkid, and we won't hurt you," Lux hissed at Will, then let out a sharp whistle.

_Shit, shit, shit!_

Erasers surrounded us in a tight circle, fangs bared and foam frothing at their mouths. You could practically hear the girls thinking _ew, rabies_. But then, as I counted the erasers, I swallowed hard as I realised the same thing as Astral.

"69 erasers," we both said at the same time.

Only Sascha actually gave a crap about the perverted number and let out a little hollow giggle.

"Remember the plan," Jordan whispered under her breath, backing up just the tiniest bit more, as far as her wings would allow.

The younger half nodded.

"3...2..." Aspen started, just loud enough so we could hear.

"1!" I yelled, Zak and Zoe shooting up from behind us, holding on the the other's kids hands.

Astral, Will, Guinevere, Aspen, Oliver, Jordan, James, Sascha and I stayed where we were, before Aspen made the first move and threw a punch at an eraser's face and exclaiming, "And that's for being an ugly, hairy, thing with rabies!"

I grinned and round-house-kicked an eraser in the stomach who doubled over and fell from the sky curled up in the fetal position.

I turned around and saw Jordan shrieking at an eraser who was looking at her confused.

"Get _away _from me you... you monster!" she yelled, then kicked him in a place where the sun don't shine.

Jordan POV

The eraser howled, and I mentally congratulated myself. _I could get used to this fighting stuff._ Another eraser threw a well-placed punch to my shoulder and I winced as I heard my arm click out of its socket. _Or maybe not_. But there was no _way_ I was going to try heal a popped socket without putting it back in place first. So I screamed in his ear. I must've popped an eardrum because he clapped his paws over his ears letting out high pitched whines. I grinned. Being best friends with a cheerleader really payed off.

I used a strong flap of my wings to replace the run up before a gymnastics routine and landed a perfect one-armed round off on an eraser who'd just fallen backwards on his back. _This could actually work._

I had Ghost push my arm back into position, then I raised my arms like I was starting a gym routine. And that was what I was going to do. It might be a bit hard but I'd manage.

I flew straight up to an eraser, jumped and my hands held onto his head before twisting so I faced his back and landed on the imaginary ground, hearing the sickening crack of a neck being broken.

I saw Sascha struggling with one eraser and I kicked its spine like I'd seen people do in movies. _Ow_. I sent Sascha a withering smile while shaking out my leg.

Aspen was shaking her head at an eraser that was coughing up blood and said, "You just ruined my boots. Do you _know_ how hard these are to find?!" starting calmly, then shrieking that he was going to pay.

But of course the boys were winning _all_ their fights then gloating to the others about how many erasers they'd killed. I rolled my eyes. Soon enough we'd finished off the erasers, and Lux had disappeared from sight.

_Of course, she get her henchmen to do all the work and doesn't do anything herself except talk._ I seethed.

I'd had about enough of these higher classed erasers thinking they were better than everyone else, only doing their job for the _freaking _ fun of it.

I'd show them. Me and all the other birdkids they'd experimented on. For us. Not for anyone else, not to save the world. Just to survive.


	12. Chapter 12

A billion years ago, this author started this story.

Now, a billion years later, this author updated this story.

Thank you ALL who've stuck with me despite my sucky updating system.

If you'd like, you can read my pathetic excuses for not updating down at the bottom of this chappy :)

~Saph

Disclaimer: All things to be disclaimed: consider them disclaimed.

Enjoy

* * *

><p>~Sascha~<p>

You'd think that flying would be less tiring than walking, that you'd last longer up in the air than on the ground. Well, it's not. If anything, it was worse. I felt like I'd just run a marathon then hadn't slept for 24 hours. I felt like crap. Although gravity was working against us, we were tired as hell and we had absolutely no idea where we were going, I felt like I belonged.

And right in that moment, flying over brightly lit towns in the darkness, I want to laugh. Or cry. Or scream until I couldn't anymore. So I did. Laugh, that is. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed. I could feel the others' eyes on me, like I was crazy. Maybe I was. Maybe I should be sent to a mental institution and never be let out. Because I had no idea why I was laughing. I wanted to stop, and in my head I was screaming at myself to stop. Even in my ears, my laughs sounded hollow. Forced. But the giggles just kept bubbling up. Ghost took a step closer. A step. In the air. Ha. I clapped a hand over my mouth, and slowly, so slowly, the giggles dissolved. And then I was crying. That earlier positivity about belonging? Yeah, that flew out the window, right then. All the exhaustion caught up with me and I wanted just to stop moving my wings for a moment and feel the exhilaration from free falling from thousands of metres in the sky.

We had no idea where we were going, what we were going to do. How we were going to survive. All we knew was that we needed to find others like us. Hybrids. But we didn't have a clue where to start. For all we knew, all the hybrids in the world could be living on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Or they could right here, with the 12 kids surrounding me, dirty and tired. Maybe, we were the only ones left.

Ghost, with his eyes trained on me, spoke up.

"Maybe we should stop. Rest somewhere," he said, sweeping an arm to encompass the small town in the distance.

"Yeah. We're all really tired, especially the younger ones," Jordan added, gesturing to Swift already sleeping in her arms, Limit clutching Zoe, and even Zak rubbing his eyes from sleepiness.

"We can't afford it. We have what? A couple dollars?" Oliver shook his head.

"It doesn't even have to be in a hotel. Just somewhere sheltered where we can stop and recover," Ghost tried.

"I could try controlling someone I guess," Zak offered.

James gave him a hard look. There was something about controlling someone, taking away their free will, that bothered him.

"I meant like get someone to give us money! You know, one of those rich ass guys who could burn money for fun," Zak argued.

"Language!" Aspen snapped as Zak sulked.

"I supposed we could give it a try. I don't particularly fancy sleeping out in the open," Guinevere shrugged, then added, "I'll steal some stuff for us too. Food, clothes. Necessities and that crap."

Aspen glared at her for swearing.

I for one couldn't care less. I wanted to sleep till tomorrow without being bothered once. My foot touched the ground when we descended. My legs felt like jelly after flying for hours. I tripped on an exposed root and stumbled into Ghost, who caught me in his arms. The wind traced the scar over my left eyebrow. I shivered, and Ghost must have thought I was cold, because he tightened his arms around me. I wiggled and broke his hold as the others stepped around us, flashing him a tight smile as thanks while I fell into step with Jordan.

* * *

><p>~Aspen~<p>

Zak scored us a room in a fancy hotel, with room service and everything. The man he'd used compulsion on had seemed a little wary at first, but his wife had been won over Zak's wide smile and dimples. Zak was in the process of asking for a dog as well before Oliver stopped him. I rolled my eyes when Zak crossed his arms like a child post-tantrum.

The bright lights reflecting in the mirrored walls of the elevator dazzled me as we crammed ourselves into the tight space. I studied myself in the reflective surface. The dark circles under my russet eyes made my eyes look even bigger than they already were. Being short and skinny made me look 11 rather than 15. I jumped a little when the elevator jerked to a stop and Juliet pressed into me. My skin crawled at the physical contact.

I trailed behind the others as we made our way to the room. Ghost unlocked one door and peered in before flinging it fully open and letting us in. There was a plush king-sized bed situated on an elevated area of the room, with the bathroom on the right side as we walked in. The other, lowered half of the room had a fold-out couch, TV, desk and armchair.

Jordan ushered Limit and Swift into the bathroom, to get them clean and in bed as soon as possible, no doubt. I watched as James and Ghost scouted the place for escape routes and entry points. As far as safety went, this was way better than sleeping on the forest ground. I couldn't help but think of all the insects and spiders that would be crawling all over us if we had.

I shuddered at the thought.

In hushed voices, Oliver and Guinevere ordered food and extra blankets, pillows and toiletries from room service. After a while, Zoe and Zak were forced into the shower despite their protests about being "big kids." All of us were mature beyond our years. We'd all seen and heard things that some people never would in their entire lives. I pulled a drawer open and closed absently, listening to it gliding back and forth smoothly on its metal track.

"Aspen."

"_Aspen,_" Jordan repeated, looking at me a little strangely.

I let the drawer slide close and turned towards her.

"Bathroom's free."

I nodded and pushed myself off the bed.

The fake marble floor of the bathroom was cool under my feet as I stripped myself of my clothes and stepped into the shower. I turned the hot water as far as it would go, tipping my head forward and closing my eyes as the scalding hot water beat against my back and drenched my hair.

I turned the water off after scrubbing myself till my arms and legs were pink from the abrasion. Wrapping myself in a thick robe and tying it around my waist, I dried off my legs and basked in the luxury of being clean and warm. I padded towards the door when someone knocked. I leaned around the door and saw Guinevere holding a pile of clothes.

"They're new," she supplied.

"Thanks," I mumbled in reply.

I pulled on the dark wash skinny jeans that fit perfectly, and a grey sweatshirt that fell past my fingertips. I assumed they were stolen from a shop somewhere. My hair hung in damp tendrils around my face as I walked out of the bathroom.

Back in the room, food had arrived and Sascha was scolding Zoe for eating on the bed and Zak for encouraging Juliet to swallow her food without chewing. Ghost sat slouched in the armchair flicking through channels on the TV before settling on a sports program. James was teasing Guinevere about being uptight while Jordan watched on looking happy and at home. Limit and Swift jumped up and down on the massive bed with Oliver watching on in as he bit into a slice of pizza.

"What do we have?" I asked, settling into a cross-legged position on the floor by the coffee table which had an assortment of food on it.

"Um, well pizza, spaghetti, this weird egg thing and noodles. There's also cake," Sascha answered, with a plate of food herself.

"Cake?" Zak asked, and made his way over immediately at the same time Ghost said, "Has anyone seen this? There's these articles about some people seeing people with wings. Wings, guys, _wings._"

The room went silent.

"So there are others out there? Others like us, I mean," Jordan asked tentatively.

"Yeah. They've been working against some 'Doomsday Group,'" Ghost replied, eyes concentrated on the TV.

I switched my attention to the TV where a news reporter was being deadly serious about her job.

"...more sightings of the famous Maximum Ride and her group of bird kids. Fang, a former bird kid who now, rumour has it, has his _own_ 'flock,' as the avid readers of .com call it. For further information..."

"What, so this bird kid is just blogging about what they're doing? Telling everyone where they are? How have the school not found them already? I mean what are they trying to do? Save the world and get rich? Because, yeah, great idea," I ranted.

I felt angry. So, so angry. Why should they be flying around, free with no one chasing after them, when we were running for our lives, when there was no difference between us? Some asshole was _blogging_ about his life, when there were things that were so much more important? I felt my anger simmering in my stomach.

"Hey! Hey. Aspen. Calm down. At least now we know that there are others out there. We could read this 'Fang's Blog' and see where they're at. Maybe they can help us out," Oliver shook me, his fingers digging into my arms.

And with that, I took a deep breath and squished the anger deep down inside me, picturing it as a volcano ready to burst, then taking a metal lid and forcing the molten lava down, down, down till it was cold and grey in the pit of my stomach.

I forced a smile and sank down onto the sofa.

My eyes flicked open in the dark room. Vaguely, I heard the hum of the air conditioner and the steady breathing of the others surround me. Pushing myself up on one arm, I pushed my tangled hair back from my face.

On the bed, Swift and Limit curled around Jordan, with Zak sprawled over the end of the bed and Zoe sleeping with her feet at the head of the bead and her head next to Zak's in the corner of the bed. Beside me, Sascha curled tighter into a ball on the sofa. James, Oliver, Guinevere and Ghost were spread in various places around the room sleeping on the hard floor with pillows under their heads. Juliet sighed in her sleep from her position in armchair, and shifted slightly.

Cold air from the air con blew into my face as I untangled myself from the sofa and placed a foot on the floor, inches away from Oliver's face. Carefully stepping over the sleeping Oliver, I crept towards the bathroom.

The bathroom's clock ticked away into 4am as I walked inside. I flicked the light on, which reflected off the dog tags hanging off my neck. They rested there, nestled into the thick fabric of the sweatshirt. My expression hardened. Deep in my heart, I missed my father. Missed him since that day when we'd found out the news.

Once, I'd been naive enough to think that love was the most powerful thing in the world. That no matter what, my parents would always love me and that someday, I'd meet my prince in shining armour, we'd have a fairy tale wedding and then we'd grow old together and live our happily ever after. That dream had died the moment my mother had sold me to the School. Clearly, money always wins out over love.

* * *

><p>~Guinevere~<p>

In the late morning, we'd all woken and called for a room service breakfast. I kind of felt bad for the guy paying for our hotel bills. Not only did he have to pay for the stay, but also buttloads of food. Enough to cater for 13 bird kids anyway. I was only 5'1 and I could out-eat a trucker. Something about having genetic mutations gave us crazy fast metabolisms, also meaning we had to eat more, which I supposed was probably advantage one to whoever the School sent to chase us. Being on the run was as horrible as it sounded.

I stood to make my way to the bathroom, when the room started to spin. Okay, so it wasn't literally, but in my head, it was enough to make stumble a little off to the side.

"Woah..." I mumbled.

Oliver's spoon paused halfway to his mouth and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"You okay?"

"Uh, I get the feeling I should _not_ be standing," I answered.

In usual cases of dizziness and nausea, the doctor would probably write it off as an ear infection, but in my case, it meant a wonderful little visit to the future that usually made no sense and left me with me more questions than I'd started with.

And then I was falling.

In my vision, I was in a hallway. A tiled hallway with walls that looked like mustard and mocha had joined up to make the worst possible colour in the history of colours. And then there were the lockers. Oh yeah, coffee coloured metal lockers lining the hallway as far as I could see.

_Great. So going to school is a part of my near future,_ I thought sourly.

"Guinevere?" a girl asked, her voice distorted, but painfully familiar.

I felt like I was in a dodgy old movie as I started to spin around, maybe to see where I was, maybe to see who was talking. I couldn't be sure because I hadn't made the full turn before the puke-worthy walls faded back into the hotel's gold trimmed walls.

"So. How does everyone feel about going to school?" I announced to the room.

* * *

><p>And there was that chappy. Short? Long? Good? No good?<p>

And onto those excuses:

Excuse number one: I started high school. That would be year 7 here is Aus.

Excuse number two: there is no excuse number two.

R&R guys?

~Saph


	13. I'm SoSoSo Sorry Guys

Hi guys,

Its SapphireAmethystRose

Guys, so clearly, I have not updated since, like, last year.

And to those who care, I've been thinking to delete my stories, because

Here's a list:

- I'm not feeling inspired

- My style of writing has changed a lot

- Nevermore was such a let down

- My favourite series have changed COMPLETELY

- lets be honest here: no one really reads my stories anyway

Stories are up for adoption (guys, i don't know how this works so, if you're up for it, let me know)

Anyway, I feel pretty *insertswearwordhere* for letting you guys down because I have no real excuse

So thank you ALL for being so supportive and helpful on the wonderful journey that was Hybrid Army

That's all,

Saph

Find me:

Twitter: m_liv_dc

Tumblr: mlivdc


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